Marotta admits Bendtner is not Juventus' first choice

By Stefan Coerts

The Turin giants' sporting director has conceded that the Arsenal attacker is not the star striker they were initially aiming for

Giuseppe Marotta has admitted that Nicklas Bendtner is not the high-profile signing that Juventus were aiming for at the start of the summer transfer window, but added that they were forced to look for alternatives due to the nature of the market.

The Serie A champions had initially set their sights on Edinson Cavani, before turning their attention to Stevan Jovetic and then Fernando Llorente.

However, Juve failed to agree terms with the respective clubs of the aforementioned trio, prompting them to move for Bendtner instead.

"Bendtner is not the high-profile striker we were hoping to sign, but it's a chance we had to take in a difficult market like this," Marotta stated to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Juventus have confirmed on their official website that the 24-year-old Denmark international is currently undergoing a medical, and he's expected to ink a one-year loan deal with the Italian giants later on Friday.